Bad and Beautiful !

Beautiful Bengaluru :)

Bangalore is a beautiful city indeed ! Be it the cool climate or the neatly maintained parks that one finds in every street, this city rocks.People seem honest and friendly, young chaps dress up like they are walking the ramp everyday and you get tasty food everywhere !

Bad/Bongu Bengaluru :/

When I was just about to make up my mind that Bangalore is the best city in India(second only to my dear Chennai) , I started boarding the city buses and that changed my entire opinion about the city.

Reason 1:
People living here seem to have misunderstood the "We two.Ours One" slogan. I see that every family proudly maintains a car . By "family", I mean husband and wife. This means the son/daughter gets to contribute his/her own share to the exponentially increasing pollution. So how does this affect a poor girl who travels by bus everyday ? Traffic !! Grrr... Especially on Friday nights when you have a train to catch in half an hour . Thank God.I am not Kareena Kapoor of Jab We Met .I dint miss any train yet ;)

Reason 2:
Another thing that makes my bus travel memorable is the funny and cunning attitude of bus conductors here !! They are so generous ... They give you a small concession of Rs.2 or 3 per ticket and when you are just wondering whether he is Kuberan-II, he gives a sheepish smile and walks away without giving you the ticket !! My friends and I did not understand what's happening for two days. The third day we found out ... he is making money and we are the ones taking all the risk in the world by travelling ticketless !!

There is one particular conductor whom we fought with .We refused to give money without receiving the ticket. Alas, we lost the well fought battle. He dodged us well , so when we gave the money,he gave the familiar sheepish smile and walked away !!! Since that day, whenever we board his bus, we throw an angry glance and he returns it with a "I dont care" smile. However, nowadays, we make sure we receive the ticket and only then do we open our purses !

P.S: None of the women conductors we saw so far were mysterious/funny like these men conductors.

Food

"Belly rules the mind !" says a Spanish proverb. I do not know if this applies to everyone but it sure suits me ! Indecisiveness seems to be my problem in every aspect of life...I never know whether to choose plan A or plan B and end up choosing an entirely different plan C...However, when it comes to food, my taste buds know what they want at the right time ! I am never confused with deciding whether or not I want to taste something :) That is because I am ready to taste anything that is vegetarian.

Listed below are a few of my favorite dishes.
1) Pani poori
Who can say no to the tempting taste of small round pooris stuffed with potato,onions,channa served together with the spicy "pani" ? I love the way we eat pani poori...How many nations have innovative eating methods like ours ? If you have never eaten a pani poori before, you are not fit to be an Indian !

2) Chole Batura
Mouth watering ?? Aint it ? Though all of us know it is full of fat and oil, we can never resist the temptation to munch away alteast one half of the batura...

3) Gobi-Manchurian
Perfect thing to eat on a rainy day . Also, Gobi 65 makes an awesome starter !

4)Vegetable Pulao

A perfectly healthy and tasty dish and tastes best when served with onion raitha :) My mom's an expert in this !! Is there anyone who can hate peas pulao ?

5) Rasam rice with lady's finger poriyal
Nothing comes like home made rasam mixed with those delicate boiled rice grains. Add some lady's finger poriyal for taste ....and wow ! It's a bliss :)

6) Aapam
I do not know if many people like this particular dish...It tastes best at Hotel Saravana Bhavan. It looks like a "U" shaped dosa :) The taste is different and can be served with coconut milk. It looks like a dosa, but is made like an idli !! So it is completely fat free and healthy too !

7) Sandwich
The easiest to make and healthiest stuff I have ever known...No matter how many times I eat it, I never get bored. I do not think my taste buds will ever say no to a sandwich as long as I live.

8) Curd Rice with mango pickle
Yummy !! My all time favorite :)

9) Strawberry/ Sappota(Chiku) Shakes
Shake Shake Shake !!

10) ICE CREAM !!!!!!
Ice Cream?? Where is it served ?? Am I allowed extra scoops??

P.S : I listed only ten of my favorites because one blog will not suffice to even mention everything !! If you are a food lover too, please mention your favorite dishes as well :)

Famous Failures

Aadhavan !

What a movie ! There are two things you cannot resist while watching it....The first one is blaming yourself for wasting money and the next is waiting for the movie to get over ! The story (if you are able to search and find) spins around an assassin hero, who was misunderstood by his dad during his childhood and shows how he gets back to his family. It looks like the director K.S.Ravikumar spent all his energy directing his previous film that he decided to do this movie to take a break from thinking.It is true that a film with proper logic can impress the audience..However, this film tries to bring in logic only in places where it is absolutely unnecessary and ends up testing our patience !

Surya has done his best, yet again , at some places he has done more than what is necessary ... May be their policy was "Do more ! " . The usage of morphing to show Surya as a 10 year old kid is a good attempt. Vadivelu helps you chuckle in some scenes. Nayanthara is portrayed as a pretty lady. Saroja Devi (Nayanthara's grandmom) delivers her dialog in the same old fashion. The late actor Murali who plays the role of a father has done a neat job. "Hasile fisile" is pleasing to the ear. However, the picturisation of the songs could have been made in a better way. The BGM is good to hear, but does not go well with the movie.

On the whole, Aadhavan is a signature K.S.Ravikumar movie. But somehow, the magic that many of his previous films created, seems to have vanished here ! The producer Udhayanidhi Stalin shows up at the last scene. You know friends, it sometimes helps to know the man who took pains to sponsor two and a half hours of "we are trying to impress you ? got it ?" trials.

Give India ! (Sep 27 - Oct 3)

Hey ! So you have been seeing me for quite sometime in newspapers,blogs,TV and posters ? You are still not sure how I am able to spread smiles across the country ? Alright, Let me introduce myself...I am the product of a non-profit organization GiveIndia.They have named me "Joy".I will hang around here for a week.I act like an interface between individuals and Non-profit organizations.You can help me spread cheer and change lives by doing any of the following:

• Eat !

Five top slot hotels and speciality restaurants are coming together to partner with Oriental Cusines . All you need to do is buy coupons that cost Rs.5000 and choose one out of 80 NGOs.The delicious food is all yours and the money you spent on it goes to the NGO that you chose ! Prepare to be taken away by the voices of Sudha Raghunathan and Karthick as you eat !
Place : Chennai Trade Center
Date : October 1
In the kitchen :Copper Chimney, China Town, Kokum, Kaaraikudi and Kebab Court

• Run !

Participate in a marathon ! A small amount of participation fee will be collected.

What: Idea- Chennai Marathon in aid of Givelife Charity
Where: Chennai
When: Sunday, September 27, 2009 from 6:00am - 9:00am

• Give your wage
  

Let your Corporate know how employees of top organizations pledge a small amount of their monthly income towards an NGO or a cause of their choice.

Example Corporates : CII, Group M, HDFC Bank, HP, ICICI Group, IMRB, Samtel

• Give Online
  

Donate money online to a cause of your choice in http://www.giveindia.org/

• 7 days 7 gifts
  

Sign up for the7 days 7 gifts challenge. All that will be asked of you is an act of kindness, say, giving a gift to, your maid, driver, bus conductor, colleague, in-laws.

• Give your skills
  

Organise a fundraiser in your office, school or college. Be creative

• Give your time
  

Spend time at an elderly home or orphanage. Or just spend time with your family for a change.

• Spread the word
  

Make people aware of me....."Joy" .......tell them how they can feel my presence by participating in the Joy of giving week !

Let us experience the joy of giving !

Unnai Pol Oruvan

Most of our films live up to two key words...Stardom and Entertainment ! However, in our singara Chennai, very few of the films seem to come with the sole purpose of letting the masses know the reality !

Such being the magical world of cinema , "Unnai Pol Oruvan" strikes the screen with one good power ..na its not our all time favorite Kamal ...and nope...I am not talking about the nice man Mohal Lal either...The film shows the power of a single common man ! You,me...Each of us is bigger than what we think !

Though it is the remake (rather, improvised version) of "A Wednesday" , viewers feel the presence of mind of the Kollywood stars has taken the film to a different level. It is nice to see Kamal dressed like a simple man, washing away all the glitter he was left with after Dasavatharam. Mohal Lal has done a good job with his Malayali accent. Audience enjoy it when he says "Tamil Nadu is also my state only...not jus Kerala" . Kamal obviously receives clapping thunders and whistle winds for every word he utters. The aged Lakshmi sure has not lost her passion for cinema. When you are trying to make out where you saw that actor dressed up in an inspector's clothes, lazily munching ground nuts, the audience screams "Sir...neenga yenga yo poiteenga sir !" :)

Ganesh Venkatram must have enjoyed playing his action role after playing the Singh bridegroom in "Abhiyum Naanum". The reporter girl with a cigar , the ethical hacker who says he is an IIT drop out, the way Kamal carries his bag filled with vegetables, the "Bush-Mush" jokes...all get registered in your mind !

Film Critics would have to search a lot to find a flaw...But come on..The movie strikes us with a strong message in a powerful way ! Why worry about flaws ? "Chakri Toleti" must be proud to have had his name as the director of this film. The BGM reminds us that Kamal's blood is mixed with creativity. Watch it friends :) It is definitely worth 2 hours of your life !

After thought !

Never can I forget that dark winter night;
“It is me, you filthy blood!” rang a voice
I thought I heard a clinking sound,
Followed by a cry so shill and a faint wail;

My heart pumped out, more sweat, than blood;
“Is she here? No, It can’t be!” I thought
“Oh God, Save me!” uttered I, touching the switch;
The lights went on and I sat up still…..

Deep in my mind, there, she stood;
She seemed to have shifted in, all for good;
Red was her saree and scarlet were her eyes,
Torn were her robes and broken was her voice!

Her pale-dry lips opened and closed,
From her mouth, strange sounds echoed!
I caught a few words as they flew past;
Ringing in my ears, they burnt my soul!

“Not fair!” she cried…I saw her so close to me
“You think you are god?” …. all went dark..
I thought I died…a red round bindi was all I could see,
She gave a final screech and then she left….

That winter evening, when I walked down the lane,
I came across this lady crying with pain;
She begged for money and saw me refuse,
She pleaded again and a coin I threw..

I watched the coin roll, down the streets,
I saw the lady run with bare feet…
Her baby on her arms, she ran till the end,
She bent with haste to grab the coin near the bend…